It's a double header this as I attempt to review an album and gig together. RATS ON RAFTS are from Rotterdam and this is their second album having recently been picked up by Fire Records. A good decision in my opinion as I am unable to think of a better band currently working in this field. Let's call it post-punk for arguments sake.
Self-produced, recorded and mastered with analogue equipment, this album lays down a marker that other bands of a similar nature would do well to refer to before they end up with egg on their face. Perhaps the key to its success is that it seems to have captured their live sound and energy on record.
Basically they turned the tapes on, walked back to their instruments and started playing. To that end both album and gig opened with 'Sleep Little Child' which is a gentle introduction into what the band are all about. It's kind of ramshackle with odd slowed down vocals and a dum-da-dum bass line but somehow the two guitars manage to weld it all together in sublime fashion. How the two guitars operate in tandem is pivotal to why this band sound so good. Not only do they weld, they meld and then they melt your face off.
Having said that, one of the reasons that this band are a must see live is that the drummer is also absolutely superb. He may not be metronomic (he probably is) but he is on it and in it. He is the backbone for what makes this band such an exciting live proposition. Not to forget their sound man who also does a fantastic job of filling the space and controlling the noise.
Returning to the album now, 'Composition' sounds like Mark E Smith turned up to help out on a noise jam and then it's straight into the thrash pop of 'Powder Monkey'. 'Rat Poison Face' continues in this vein and by this point ROR hands are firmly on my jugular. 'Seaside Tape Hiss' slows things down and wobbles the vocals. It is hard to say what is so special about this track other than it makes me all funny inside.
'Zebradelic' follows and is an indication that lurking beneath the visceral sound of this band is an ability to write insanely catchy tunes. It's psych pop as you might deduce from the title and live is likely to induce mass pogoing. 'Last Day On Earth', which I believe was a single, distils everything that is wonderful about this band into one place. Six minutes of post-punk energy and not a single second wasted. Live it is a thing of beauty.
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The album closer is Machine 1-6-8 and what it reminds me of is all kind of things and yet not really any of them. Velvet Underground, The Buzzcocks, you name it basically it's all in there but most of all it's 'out there'. To finish with reference to the gig, Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand) has suggested that you really should see this band even if it means travelling to Rotterdam. Well I went all the way to London and back on a Thursday night to do just that for a thirty minute set and it was worth every penny.
It's a long while since I have seen a support act blow away the main band but ROR did just that and bearing in mind that Blank Realm are a fine band in their own right and no mugs on stage, that surely tells you something? In a way it is easy to speak of energy or should I say put energy into a performance but what sets ROR apart is in fact intensity. They seem to be in a world of their own and playing for themselves and wholly committed to that moment and ultimately anyone fortunate enough to see and hear that will be hearty recipients. Whilst I doubt anyone will agree, they are like a cross between (oh no not a cross between!) Joy Division and The Sugarcubes. If that doesn't work for you then how about this: ROR are fully sick.
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